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Nan Goldin Speaks Out on Censorship of Berlin ShowCHICAGO — Nearly eight and a half years after being confronted by federal authorities about his own wrongdoing, former Chicago Ald. Daniel Solis has taken the witness stand Thursday in the corruption trial of ex-House Speaker Michael Madigan to testify about his unprecedented turn as an FBI mole. Solis is the 34th prosecution witness — and arguably the most important — to be called in Madigan’s trial, which began Oct. 8. He’s expected to be on the stand for two weeks. Solis, 75, worked undercover for more than two years, making a series of video and audio recordings that prosecutors allege captured Madigan, his powerful Democratic counterpart, scheming to use his official duties to squeeze developers for tax appeal business for his private law firm. Solis, who represented the city’s 25th Ward and was the head of the City Council’s influential Zoning Committee, also testified last year in the corruption trial of former Ald. Edward Burke. But in that case, Solis was called by Burke’s lawyers in a Hail Mary attempt to win acquittal. This time, Solis is being called as one of the pillars of the prosecution’s case, adding import to how he comes across to the jury and also exposing him to a much more wide-ranging cross examination over his own alleged misdeeds. In his opening statement to the jury last month, Madigan attorney Tom Breen made clear there will be no kid-glove treatment of Solis, sarcastically calling him an “absolute beaut” and a morally bankrupt liar with a “decrepit personal and professional life.” Breen also called Solis a “braggart and a BS-er” who had a “decrepit personal and professional life.” He told the jury Solis was given a script by the FBI and anything he said should be treated with suspicion. To be sure, Madigan’s legal team will have plenty of ammunition. Despite his own admittedly illegal acts, Solis was able to cut a deferred prosecution deal with the U.S. attorney’s office that many in Chicago’s legal community say is unprecedented for an elected official, especially one allegedly caught betraying the public trust. As part of the deal, Solis admitted to taking campaign cash from a real estate developer in exchange for official action as Zoning Committee chair. But instead of facing jail time, Solis will see all charges against him dropped next year, leaving him with a clean criminal record. What’s more, the deal could allow Solis to keep collecting his nearly $100,000 annual city pension, which could easily bring in a sizable sum from the taxpayer-funded system over the remainder of his lifetime. When the extraordinary leniency was made official in 2022, some in City Hall, including then-Mayor Lori Lightfoot, complained it was a travesty of justice. But the lead prosecutor on the case, Assistant U.S. Attorney Amarjeet Bhachu, told a federal judge Solis’ cooperation was perhaps “singular” even in the city’s long history of political corruption. “Some may view (Solis’ deal) as being with little precedent, but what Mr. Solis did also was with little precedent,” Bhachu said during a status hearing in Solis’ case two years ago. “He didn’t just talk. He took action. He worked with the federal government for six years to expose corruption.” Solis’ work as an FBI mole began in mid-2016, when he was confronted by investigators who had secretly listened in on hundreds of his phone calls over the course of nearly a year, including conversations where the alderman solicited everything from campaign donations to Viagra pills and sexual services at a massage parlor, court records show. He had already agreed to go undercover for investigators when he traveled to the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia later that summer with the hopes of getting Madigan on tape, the Tribune has previously reported. Instead, Burke walked into the picture and the investigation took an abrupt turn. In testimony in Madigan’s trial last month, in fact, FBI Special Agent Ryan McDonald told the jury that Madigan didn’t resume as a focus until more than a year later. Burke was convicted of an array of corruption schemes last year in large part because of Solis’ cooperation and is now serving 2 years in prison. In her opening statement to the jury in Madigan’s case, Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Streicker outlined a series of schemes involving Solis, including one where Madigan allegedly pushed the governor’s office to place Solis on a six-figure state board position in exchange for the alderman’s help in landing legal business. She showed jurors a copy of a note on Madigan’s law firm stationery that signaled Solis would be interested in sitting on a state labor relations board or on the Illinois Commerce Commission. Madigan’s moves demonstrated how he operated in a “transactional” way, Streicker said. “When Madigan saw an opportunity to enrich himself, he took it,” she said. In another episode, Streicker said, Madigan specifically requested Solis to help connect the longtime speaker with Harry Skydell, the New York-based developer of the sprawling Old Post Office. In 2017, Madigan prepared to “exploit Solis’ power” over a proposed project called Union West in the West Loop, Streicker said. With the project being considered in the City Council where Solis oversaw zoning matters, Solis let Madigan know that the developer understood there was a “quid pro quo” that Madigan’s law firm should get the property tax business, Streicker said. Later, Madigan was recorded using “whisper tones” to give a “false explanation” to Solis and told him to steer clear of using the phrase “quid pro quo,” Streicker said. Breen, meanwhile, countered by playing the exchange that was captured on a shaky video recording Solis made of Madigan explaining that Solis should not use the term “quid pro quo” because what Madigan’s property tax appeals firm is offering high-quality work. ©2024 Chicago Tribune. Visit at chicagotribune.com . Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Musk's Controversial Endorsement Sparks German Political Storm
Barclays PLC raised its position in Embecta Corp. ( NASDAQ:EMBC – Free Report ) by 41.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 97,930 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 28,523 shares during the period. Barclays PLC owned about 0.17% of Embecta worth $1,381,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in EMBC. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Embecta in the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. Copeland Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Embecta in the third quarter valued at about $43,000. Iat Reinsurance Co. LTD. purchased a new stake in shares of Embecta in the second quarter valued at about $50,000. CWM LLC grew its position in shares of Embecta by 11.3% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 10,102 shares of the company’s stock valued at $142,000 after purchasing an additional 1,023 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new position in shares of Embecta during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $140,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.83% of the company’s stock. Embecta Price Performance NASDAQ:EMBC opened at $20.70 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.20 billion, a PE ratio of 15.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.25. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $17.22 and a 200-day simple moving average of $15.16. Embecta Corp. has a 1-year low of $9.93 and a 1-year high of $21.48. Embecta Announces Dividend The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.90%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. Embecta’s payout ratio is 44.44%. Analysts Set New Price Targets A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on EMBC shares. BTIG Research raised Embecta from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $26.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Morgan Stanley raised Embecta from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $13.00 to $20.00 in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on EMBC Embecta Company Profile ( Free Report ) Embecta Corp., a medical device company, focuses on the provision of various solutions to enhance the health and wellbeing of people living with diabetes. Its products include pen needles, syringes, and safety injection devices, as well as digital applications to assist people with managing patient's diabetes. Featured Stories Five stocks we like better than Embecta Using the MarketBeat Dividend Yield Calculator Buffett Takes the Bait; Berkshire Buys More Oxy in December Stock Average Calculator Top 3 ETFs to Hedge Against Inflation in 2025 What is a buyback in stocks? A comprehensive guide for investors These 3 Chip Stock Kings Are Still Buys for 2025 Receive News & Ratings for Embecta Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Embecta and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter .
Fresh robotic hell On a scale of one to 10, just how desperate do you think Kim Kardashian is for attention? Judging by the billionaire's weirdly sexual photoshoot with a robot, the answer may be an 11. The entrepreneur and influencer, who is a big Tesla fan, recently posed with the company's Optimus bot in a Tesla Cybercab (a self-driving taxi) for a series of photos which might be described as avant-garde if you're being polite, and dystopian thirst traps if you're not. She also posted some rather less sultry videos of her interacting with the humanoid robot. The photoshoot has ignited something of a debate online about whether Kardashian is deliberately aligning herself with Elon Musk, who runs Tesla, and outing herself as a Trump supporter. Which is a bit of a stretch really as I'm not sure that – with the exception of an admirable stint working on criminal justice reform – Kardashian has ever pretended to be a leftist. Kardashian is a billionaire who has been sued for unfair labor practices and who announced, back in 2018, that she has "nothing bad to say" about Trump. Her Tesla-themed photoshoot was hardly a radical new direction for her. It is, however, a sign of the "autonomous everything" direction in which we're headed. The world's most famous influencer cozying up to a robot in a self-driving taxi is yet another example of how AI-powered autonomous technology is slowly marching into our lives. When it comes to Tesla's Optimus robot, of course, the operative word here is slowly. The robot, which isn't available for sale to the general public yet, may look flashy but it isn't clear just how sophisticated it actually is yet. The Optimus robots were a major part of Tesla's Cybercab reveal in October, serving drinks to the crowd and even chatting with them – as it turns out, however, these "cutting-edge" robots were actually being remotely controlled by humans. Which is a step up, I suppose, from when Musk unveiled plans for a "Tesla Bot" in 2021 by... Arwa MahdawiThe world approved a bitterly negotiated climate deal Sunday committing wealthy historic polluters to $300 billion annually for poor and vulnerable nations that had demanded far more to confront the crisis of global warming. After two exhaustive weeks of chaotic bargaining and sleepless nights, nearly 200 nations banged through the contentious finance pact in the early hours beneath a sports stadium roof in Azerbaijan. Nations had struggled to reconcile long-standing divisions over climate finance. Sleep-deprived diplomats, huddled in anxious groups, were still revising the final phrasing on the plenary floor before the deal passed. At points, the talks appeared on the brink of collapse, with developing nations storming out of meetings and threatening to walk away should rich nations not cough up more cash. In the end -- despite repeating that no deal is better than a bad deal -- they did not stand in the way of an agreement, despite it falling well short of what they want. The final deal commits developed nations to pay at least $300 billion a year by 2035 to help developed countries green their economies and prepare for worse disasters. That is up from $100 billion now provided by wealthy nations under a commitment set to expire -- and from the $250 billion proposed in a draft Friday. That offer was slammed as offensively low by developing countries, which have demanded at least $500 billion to build resilience against climate change and cut emissions. A number of countries have accused Azerbaijan, an authoritarian oil and gas exporter, of lacking the experience and will to meet the moment, as the planet again sets temperature records and faces rising deadly disasters. Wealthy countries and small island nations have also been concerned by efforts led by Saudi Arabia to water down calls from last year's summit to phase out fossil fuels. The United States and EU have wanted newly wealthy emerging economies like China -- the world's largest emitter -- to chip in. The final draft encouraged developing countries to make contributions on a voluntary basis, reflecting no change for China which already pays climate finance on its own terms. Wealthy nations said it was politically unrealistic to expect more in direct government funding. Donald Trump, a sceptic of both climate change and foreign assistance, returns to the White House in January and a number of other Western countries have seen right-wing backlashes against the green agenda. The deal posits a larger overall target of $1.3 trillion per year to cope with rising temperatures and disasters, but most would come from private sources. bur-np-sct/lth/jj( MENAFN - EIN Presswire) Software as a service (SaaS) Global market Report 2024 - Market Size, Trends, And Global Forecast 2024-2033 The Business Research Company's Early Year-End Sale! Get up to 30% off detailed market research reports-for a limited time only! LONDON, GREATER LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM, December 19, 2024 /EINPresswire / -- The Business Research Company's Early Year-End Sale! Get up to 30% off detailed market research reports-limited time only! The global market for Software as a Service SaaS, a major innovator in the technology sector, has experienced significant growth in recent years. According to the Software as a Service SaaS Global Market Report 2024, the market size is estimated to rise from $248.76 billion in 2023 to $256.6 billion in 2024, reflecting a compound annual growth rate CAGR of 3.2%. What Factors Are Driving The Growth of the SaaS Market? The historical growth in the Software as a Service SaaS market can be attributed to a variety of factors. These include increased internet penetration, a surge in technological developments, initiatives by governments worldwide to reduce IT infrastructure costs, and the rising penetration of e-commerce. Illustratively, organizations are pushed to seek scalable and flexible solutions like SaaS and other cloud-enabled services in the face of dynamic market changes, thus leading to substantial growth in this sector. Get Detailed Insights into the Global SaaS Market With A Sample Report: What Is the Anticipated Future Growth of the SaaS Market? As we look forward to the future, the Software as a Service SaaS market is set to observe phenomenal expansion. This market is projected to reach a staggering value of $325.84 billion by 2028, growing at a compound annual growth rate CAGR of 6.2%. Prominent trends expected in the forecast period include the adoption of IoT technology, the impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak, and the burgeoning growth of smart cities. Moreover, there is a significant trend towards implementing artificial intelligence AI to provide enhanced personalization, speed, and security, while also moving towards mobile optimization and centralized analytics. Diving in deeper to understand the driving factors for forecasted growth, we see that cloud-based solutions that support business operations in rapidly changing conditions are expected to benefit the Software as a Service SaaS market in the forecast period. Rapid changes in the market reflect economic uncertainty, competitive rivalry, the increasing adoption of mobile, changing regulations, internet usage, and applications. Such conditions, coupled with the increasing number of infrastructures and established networks, have compelled companies to outsource applications and prefer solutions like SaaS. Dive Deeper into the Global SaaS Market with the Full Report: Who Are The Key Players in the SaaS Market? Major players operating within the Software as a Service SaaS ecosystem include Microsoft Corporation, Salesforce Inc., Oracle Corporation, Automated Data Processing Inc., Alphabet Inc., Adobe Inc., Amazon Inc., and Cisco Systems Inc., among others. Such players have been consistently leading the market, and their collective growth has shaped the overall progress of the Software as a Service SaaS market. How Is the SaaS Market Segmented? The SaaS market is segmented in several ways: 1 By Application: Customer Relationship Management CRM, Enterprise Resource Planning ERP, Human Resource Management HRM, Manufacturing and Operations, Supply Chain Management SCM 2 By Deployment Model: Public Cloud, Private Cloud, Hybrid Cloud 3 By Enterprise Size: Small & Medium Enterprises SMEs, Large Enterprises 4 By End User: Manufacturing, Retail, Education, Healthcare, IT & Telecom, BFSI, Other End-Users Where Are the Key Regions for SaaS Market Growth? North America was the largest region in the Software as a Service SaaS market as of 2023, with Western Europe taking the second spot. Other significant regions include Asia-Pacific, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, South America, the Middle East, and Africa – all of which contribute to the global spread of the Software as a Service SaaS market. Browse Through More Similar Reports By The Business Research Company: Data Center Infrastructure Management Global Market Report 2024 Cloud-Based ERP Global Market Report 2024 Cloud Storage Global Market Report 2024 About The Business Research Company Learn More About The Business Research Company. With over 15000+ reports from 27 industries covering 60+ geographies, The Business Research Company has built a reputation for offering comprehensive, data-rich research and insights. Armed with 1,500,000 datasets, the optimistic contribution of in-depth secondary research, and unique insights from industry leaders, you can get the information you need to stay ahead in the game. Contact us at: The Business Research Company: Americas +1 3156230293 Asia +44 2071930708 Europe +44 2071930708 Email us at ... 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